WHO IS A REFUGEE?
There are currently 65.3 million displaced people who are fleeing their homes because of war, persecution, or violence. The legal status of displaced people depends heavily on which category they fall under: refugee, internally displaced person, or asylum seeker. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) definitions for these terms are listed below. For more information, visit UNHCR's website here.
Refugee
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Refugees have been forced to flee their country becuase of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The average time away from their home country for refugees is 17 years.
Internally Displaced Person
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Internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been forced to flee their home for the same reason as a refugee, but remain in their own country and have not crossed an international border. Unlike refugees, IDPs are not protected by international law or eligible to receive many types of aid.
Asylum Seeker
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When people flee their own country and seek sanctuary in another country, they apply for asylum—the right to be recognized as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance. An asylum seeker must demonstrate that their fear of persecution in their home country is well-founded. It is up to the receiving country's refugee processing bureaus to assess if a fear of persecution or other imminent danger is "well-founded." If that bureau finds that an asylum seeker's fear of persecution is not "well-founded," the asylum seeker will be deported back to their country of citizenship, often the very country from which they are trying to flee.
The number of Syrian refugees has been steadily increasing since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011. According to UNHCR and UNICEF reports in Syria, over half of the almost 5 million refugees fleeing Syria are women and children under 12 years of age. The majority of these refugees are living in camps or other temporary housing in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt. It is important to note that this number reflects only the number of officially registered Syrian refugees, and excludes those who have not been able to gain refugee status or are Interally Displaced Persons (IDPs) within the country. UNHCR's latest reports indicate that, as of August 2016, there are 4,815,540 registered Syrian refugees.